Onslaught of anti-DEI legislation to have chilling effect on free speech in North Carolina institutions

RALEIGH (April 10, 2025) – The NC Justice Center strongly condemns the Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 558, the General Assembly’s latest attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion in public institutions. Senate Bill 558, coupled with its K-12 counterpart SB 227 and the even more insidious House Bill 171, shows that state lawmakers are once again embracing divisive political rhetoric from the Trump administration at the expense of North Carolina communities.

By banning K-12 teachers and faculty at public institutions of higher education from talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion, Senate Bills 227 and 558 violate teaching staff’s constitutional right to free speech. The bills outlaw certain “divisive concepts” that are intentionally vague and poorly defined. They will have a cooling effect in classrooms, limiting honest discussions of racial discrimination in this country.

HB 171, which House members have now twice delayed voting on, is even worse. It creates criminal penalties for violations and would empower anyone—regardless of motive—to make spurious accusations against educators. If HB 171 passes next week, not only would speech be stifled, but districts and state and local governments would be forced to waste limited resources on frivolous litigation.

The House and Senate bills are deliberate attempts to undermine our schools—one of the only institutions that, when run effectively, promote cross-class and cross-racial solidarity. Teachers are already reporting that these bills are hindering their ability to educate and harming students.

We therefore urge state lawmakers to reject divisive, dog-whistle tactics and to instead focus on remedying the systemic barriers that have led to ongoing inequities and discrimination against historically marginalized communities in North Carolina.